


I've Been Missing You

by piesforjack (laurelhips)



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Anxiety Attacks, Drunken Flirting, M/M, Mildly Dubious Consent, Protective Jack
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-10
Updated: 2017-03-10
Packaged: 2018-10-02 04:57:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,579
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10210079
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/laurelhips/pseuds/piesforjack
Summary: Bitty is used to sloppy drunk jocks, he lives in a house chock full of them, sometimes he is the sloppy drunk jock. So he understands just how not easy it is to be suave and gentlemanly three cups of tub juice in, really, he does.





	

**Author's Note:**

> this was a prompt from tumblr from @bittysbowtie: _i would really love to see a story where bitty is getting hit on aggressively by a drunk guy and jack jumps in to defend/protect him ive seen a few like these and i know bitty can stick up for himself but i really want to see one where jack is protective over a bitty who maybe doesn’t know how to handle the situation????_
> 
> i'm a total sucker for protective!jack and it gave me a chance to write out some personal anxiety stuff which was quite cathartic!
> 
> enjoy!

Bitty is used to sloppy drunk jocks, he lives in a house chock full of them, sometimes _he is_ the sloppy drunk jock. So he understands just how not easy it is to be suave and gentlemanly three cups of tub juice in, really, he does. Normally, Bitty can handle even the sloppiest of drunk jocks (aka Holster, nine beers in, warbling out Adele at 3AM) but his tolerance might draw the line somewhere between obscene dance moves and uninhibited karaoke, and aggressively crowding into someone’s space with the most abhorrent liquor breath known to man.

He definitely isn’t a LAX bro, which _thank God_ , he’s a new face. Bitty doesn’t recognize him at all, and even at his sloppiest he’s always able to recall familiar faces and their pies of choice.

This boy is tall, not quite Holster height but getting there. He has dark, heavy brows and a chin strap beard that Bitty’s itching to peel off like a sticker. Overall, he isn’t terrible looking, but Bitty doesn’t care for how close he’s standing, especially how his arm is squaring Bitty into the corner of the room, boxing him with no sight of almost anything other than this guy and his smarmy grin. Bitty is trying to stand on his tiptoes to make eye contact with any of the Haus boys, but he can barely catch a glimpse before his feet give out and he falls back to his normal height, cursing under his breath.

“So what’s your like, hockey spot?” The boy slurs. Bitty narrows his eyes.

“What? Hockey spot? Like, where we play? We play at Faber, obviously.” Bitty bit back an eye roll, his Mama raised him better than that. The boy just chuckled lowly, his mouth moving uncomfortably closer to Bitty’s ear.

“Like, I don’t know how to say it. But like, you seem a little small for a goalie.” The boys breath was warm and wet and almost sticky and Bitty shivered for all the wrong reasons. He needed to get out.

“Position, those are positions.” Bitty was choking out the words, trying to hold his breath and put as much distance between him and the stranger. He could distantly hear the front door open and close and a whirl of cheers spreading through the front hallway.

“Position, that’s the word. What’s your position, uh…” The guy was fishing for a name, trying to be subtle in his execution, but Bitty didn’t take the bait.

“Right winger,” Bitty answered, trying to rise again to see what all the commotion was. He could catch flashes of Haus boys swarming to whomever had just come in the door. Bitty fell back to his normal height, puffing a loud sigh and crossing his arms; it seemed that Sir Chin-Strap was trying to close in even further and Bitty was running out of space to back in to.

“I have no fuckin’ idea what that is, but that’s hot.” The strangers words were dripping with an attempt at seduction, Bitty was squirming as the man’s lips brushed the skin just south of his earlobe.

_“Where’s Bitty? He’ll want to say hello, for sure!”_ Bitty could overhear Chowder shouting. If someone would just look over this way.

_“Bitty? Itty Bitty, wherefore art thou?”_ Dex was calling out.

_“Dude, wherefore art thou doesn’t mean ‘where are you’, it means ‘why are you’, brah,”_ Nursey slurred matter-of-factly. Bitty could almost see Dex’s face fuming.

_“Come to think of it, I haven’t seen Bits in a while,”_ Holster voice was edging with concern.

_“Maybe he called it an early night? Maybe he was drinking more than we thought he was?”_ Ransom was reasoning with him.

_“Should we check upstairs? I’ll check upstairs.”_ Chowder’s feet began pounding up the staircase.

_“I’ll check the bathroom, Dex can check the basement, Nursey check the porch, Ransom can check the kitchen. Make sure the roof too, Chow!”_ Holster was dishing out orders. They were looking everywhere except where Bitty actually was.

_No, no, no, no, no_ …Bitty’s fingers began twitching.

“Uh, I think I need to, go…over there, away, um, something–” Bitty was reaching out to gently shove past this stranger who had transitioned from uncomfortably close to actually touching, and Bitty was far from okay with that. But the man misunderstood (or simply ignored) the motion and crowded in further, pressing his chest flush with Bitty’s and dragging wet, sucking kisses down the column of Bitty’s throat. Bitty began clenching his fists, attempting to push back at the stranger, but the stranger was just a little too hefty for Bitty’s small range of motion to do much of anything.

“I have a boyfr–” Bitty was twisting his neck, trying to unlatch the leech of a human, while simultaneously pushing on the boys chest with his open palms to almost no avail. This only spurred the stranger on further.

“You’re so fuckin’ hot when you’re all…pushy. It’s _sexy_.” The man tried to bite at Bitty’s earlobe, and Bitty found himself whimpering in disgust, pushing harder still. The boy only laughed in his ear, pushing back harder.

“Get. _Off_. Of me. I said I have a b–” Bitty was grunting out the words trying to push harder than his arms would allow, but the boy had a height and weight advantage. Just as Bitty was about to pull his trump card, a well-placed knee to the dick, the intrusive body was pulled from in front of him in a single swift movement.

“What the _fuck_ are you doing?” Jack. Bitty felt his tongue catch in his throat. Jack with his red flannel pulled tightly around his shoulders, Jack with his lips in a fury-fuelled snarl, Jack with eyes so sharp they looked like they were trying to slice the other boy in half. Jack who was supposed to be back home in Providence right now, Jack who Bitty wasn’t even expecting to see right now, not like this.

Jack was… _angry_ , angrier than Bitty had probably ever seen him. Jack held the stranger by his biceps, squishing them in in an uncomfortable looking way, forcing the guy onto his tiptoes with how hard Jack was gripping him.

“Hey fuck off, why don’t you. Just having a little fun, you fuckin’ shit disturber.” The drunk guy was laughing, _laughing_ , as he spoke. Bitty feared for the stupid lumps life. The music was switched off, someone catching on to what was happening, a potential fight brewing in the corner of the main room.

“ _A little fun?_ ” Jack’s voice was dangerously low-pitched. “You think kissing someone without their permission is a fucking _game_?” Jack’s nostrils flared. « _You fucking piece of shit I swear to fu–_ » Jack was obviously winding up for a punch, but before he could pull his arm back to swing, Dex, Nursey, and Chowder were on him, grabbing his shoulders and arms in a tight grip to keep him from going for it. Just what he needs, one week into his NHL career and already in the news for punching a guy at a frat party. Bitty didn’t realize he was holding his breath until it rushed out of him all of sudden. Holster and Ransom rounded on the stranger and grabbed him by both his arms, respectively.

“Hey here’s an idea,” Ransom snarled. “How’s about you fuck _right_ off.”

“Yeah, this is a consent only zone, you nasty fucker. Get the fuck out,” Holster growled.

“And _stay the fuck out_.” Ransom continued.

Bitty was watching as the boys promptly threw the stranger onto the porch, slamming the door behind him. In front of him, Dex, Nursey, and Chowder were easing up their grip on Jack, taking a few steps back as Jack’s face returned to its normal cloudy expression. Bitty was sheepish, he was bowing his head to avoid eye contact with anyone. It was embarrassing, everyone in the party was watching him, eyes flitting between him and Jack trying to put puzzle pieces together.

“Alright party’s fucking over, shape up and ship out, motherfuckers!” Holster and Ransom began shuffling people out and the frogs began a shakedown of the Haus for any wandering stragglers.

Bitty stood, feeling glued to his spot in the living room. It was just him and Jack now, standing in a thick silence.

“Jack I–” Bitty began.

“Let’s go upstairs, Bittle.” Jack’s voice was clipped, it was loaded with something, something Bitty could only foresee as disappointment or frustration, or maybe a mix of both. It was no secret that Bitty had had that effect on Jack in the past.

Instead of turning away immediately, Jack was waiting for Bitty to begin his ascent upstairs. Bitty kept his head down as he made his way up, Jack was following close behind, but not too much so. They boys still didn’t know about them, so Jack kept a reasonable distance. Regardless, Bitty felt a chill run up his spine, he may not have been able to feel Jack’s actual touch, but he could most certainly feel Jack’s stare burning right through him, slicing right to his core. It was a mix of both comforting and off-putting.

They climbed over the caution tape, and Bitty was reaching into his pocket for his key, sliding it into the lock and turning for the click. Jack was waiting, patiently, his expression calculatedly neutral. Bitty swallowed the lump growing in his throat.

Once beyond the threshold of his room, Bitty felt his shoulders relax; he didn’t realize they’d been hunched so tensely. Letting out a shaky sigh Bitty sat on his bed, his whole body seeming to sag with relief, the realization that he was safe and he was okay was finally starting to sink in.

Jack stood in front of Bitty, unsure of what to do or say. Bitty felt much the same.

“I’m sorry, Jack,” Bitty was mumbling. “I…I don’t know what I would’ve–What could’ve–I just, I’m sorry I let it get so far, I wish…I’m so stupid, I could’ve done something more. I’m so sorry.” Bitty felt his chest getting tighter as he spoke, his whole body felt like an elastic strung too tightly, ready to snap. Bitty was clenching his eyes shut, his foot tapping and his leg bobbing as his nerves wound him up further still.

“Bittle, Bitty… _Eric_ ,” Jack’s words were much closer than Bitty was expecting, he opened his eyes to see Jack on his knees in front of him, hands tentatively reaching out to rest of Bitty’s knees. “Please, _please_ don’t be sorry.” Jack’s eyes were so sad, so full of a soft kind of sorrow that Bitty had only ever seen when Jack was wounded or heartbroken. “This isn’t your _fault_ , you didn’t do anything _wrong_ , you shouldn’t–Bits, you _can’t_ blame yourself.”

“Must be tiring, having to go the extra mile for me all the damn time, I’m so…I’m so bad at everything I can’t seem to get it right ever, God dammit! I’m so–” Bitty felt himself shaking, his breath coming quicker and more shallowly, he felt his hands start to shake and his breath felt wonky in his chest. Jack reached out more firmly, gripping Bitty’s knees tightly, attempting to ground him in this moment, in reality. Bitty was trying to force his breath even but it wouldn’t cooperate. Jack folded Bitty’s hands in his, pressing them to his own chest as he took slow, even breaths.

“Easy, breathe easy, just like this. Breathe with me, _mon cher_.” Jack was maintaining eye contact, the blue of his irises seeming warmer and gentler as he breathed slowly and surely. Bitty felt the tension in his neck release as he breathed slowly, he didn’t notice when he’d started crying, but he felt the tears slow to a trickle as his breath evened out and his hands stopped shaking. Jack held him like this for minutes, maybe hours, Bitty couldn’t tell. There was nothing around them, not even time itself, just Bitty, Jack, and the moon, breathing and existing together.

Jack began pressing soft kisses to Bitty’s hands, his wrists, his fingertips, slowly bringing Bitty back down to earth.

“I’m sorry I didn’t…I should’ve…” Bitty trailed off, he didn’t know how to finish that sentence, everything he thought of saying felt hollow and redundant, instead, he tangled his fingers with Jack’s. “What–what are you even _doing_ here, anyhow?” Bitty spoke softly, not quite trusting his voice. “Lord knows I’m glad you are, but, I thought you had practice? And meetings? I thought–” Bitty paused as Jack chuckled softly, but not unkindly, pressing another flurry of kisses to Bitty’s hands.

“I do, and I did, but I figured I still had some spare time to make an appearance, I was invited after all.” Bitty’s mind wandered to the off-hand text exchange from earlier that day, though he didn’t _really_ expect Jack to take him up on his offer.

“It feels like it’s been forever since I saw you in person. I’ve been missing you.” Jack squeezed Bitty’s hands a little more firmly as he spoke; Jack was smiling now, a small curve, but a smile nonetheless. “I’ve missed getting to hold you, even if it can only be for a few hours. I wanted to see you, kiss you goodnight, maybe even lie with you for a while. Just wanted to be with you.” Jack always complained how bad he was with words, but what Jack was saying was like music to Bitty’s ears. Bitty felt himself start to blush all over, his cheeks feeling warm, his heart beating a little bit quicker. Jack would never know just how good he was with his words.

Bitty leaned forward to rest his forehead with Jack’s. “Oh you _fool_. You sappy, silly, boy, I–Thank you, is what I think I mean. Thank you, just for bein’ you.” Bitty shook his head lightly in disbelief, this boy.

Jack smiled more fully, pulling back to place a small kiss just on the tip of Bitty’s nose.

“ _Toujours, mon cœur,_ ” Bitty giggled softly, his whole body feeling lighter and calmer and _oh boy_ was he _tired_.

“You should get some sleep,” Jack spoke as if he was reading Bitty’s mind. Bitty let out a yawn as a response.

Changing into one of Jack’s Falconers shirseys and a pair of thick sweatpants, Bitty slid under the covers, Jack sliding in alongside him.

“I have to leave in a few hours, and I should probably talk to the boys before I go, but I’ll stay until you fall asleep. I promise.” Jack drew a little ‘x’ over his heart with his index finger, Bitty found it hopelessly endearing.

“What will you tell ‘em? What will they…?” Bitty trailed off on another yawn.

“I’ll make something up if it comes up, don’t worry. You are, _this_ , is more important.” Jack allowed Bitty to snuggle up right under his chin, folding his arms around him easily, rubbing small, slow circles into Bitty’s back and shoulder blades.

“Mmph…” Bitty trailed off, his mind going blank as sleep took hold. He felt so safe and warm and loved, even if the word hadn’t come up yet, maybe his heart knew something Bitty’s brain hadn’t caught onto yet. If his heart was right, which Bitty was almost certain it was, he new the feeling on his part was the same. And that was good enough for right now.

**Author's Note:**

> i'm piesforjack on tumblr if you wanna check out the other kooky stuff i write there!!


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